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The Line Buffet, Shangri-La Hotel Singapore

One will be easily spoiled for choice at The Line. Serving up a wide array of international cuisines, The Line could not better represent the diverse flavours you can find in little cosmopolitan Singapore — and all made with choice ingredients.

I had the pleasure of partaking in the buffet feast last Saturday, as part of a committee treat for some Hall committee I was involved in the past year. And, I must say that food is an excellent way to express appreciation (aha! the glutton in me speaks again).

Tried as I may, I was struggling to have a taste of everything available. But, alas, it was impossible. In the end, in the battle of (wo)man vs. food, food won this time!

The rest of the food I simply could not sample were savoured by my friends instead. Hence, my reviews would probably be a mixture of both mine and theirs.

Meat salad! All kinds of meat.

Juicy steak served with beef jus.

Japanese, another popular counter at the restaurant.

One of the highlights for me would have to be the salad spread (featured photo of this post). I love salads, and what The Line had to offer just blew me away, leaving me with quite a bit of shame too at the most amateurish idea I had of salads prior to this.

This plate is just an example of how greedy I can be… Ha ha, I simply took a bit of each salad but in the end it still amounted to a lot! (And this isn’t even all there is.) Of all that I’d eaten, the three that stood out for me most would be the smoked duck salad (top left), tomato mozzarella basil (top right) and the crab meat, mango and avocado salad (the next one in clockwise order). This is probably because I love basil, avocado and a strong meat!

And, of course, I just had to enjoy a mandatory bowl of freshly tossed Caesar salad, which totally did not disappoint 😉

If you’re looking for something more exotic, you can give South Arabian and Turkish flavours a try. Also Italian, but not only the classic pizzas, because they’ve got other dishes like a pretty tasty ratatouille.

Sweet peppers stuffed with an equally sweet rice-based mixture.

Chicken tangine with pita bread.

Pizza, an all-time favourite.

Ratatouille.

I’ve also heard a lot about their seafood. If you love things fresh and raw (unfortunately I cannot appreciate), you’re going to go wild at The Line. My friend went berserk with the oysters. Apparently they’re just that good.

I had one last thing before diving into dessert. It was a poached egg with asparagus. It was perfectly done.

~

Now, finally, on to my favourite part. The desserts were… Gosh, I don’t even know what to say! My friends and I practically just went on a sugar-high and ended the night with some of the most incredible emotions and satisfactions ever — the kind that only food can bring.

The choices were aplenty, and the staff were very efficient in replacing and changing the spread all through the night as well. If there’s any dessert you shouldn’t miss out on, it’s got to be the classic New York Cheesecake and the Lemon Meringue Tart.

Be warned: this is not the place to go if you’re trying to keep a diet! We went back for multiple helpings, and then some more.

Try ALL the desserts! Level: Asian.

How Asians enjoy dessert. (Ha ha, kidding!)

As the bill was paid for by my friend, and the rest of us too coy to ask the amount, it was a bit of research that revealed the damage incurred that night. A hearty dinner indeed, setting my friend back a good 700 bucks for nine of us.

Overall, Shangri-La is a five-star hotel, that much I know. For its class, I dare say I should be expecting more from this restaurant. The most tainting negatives would have to be warm food not kept warm (some were left cold) and a lack of standards in foods like the dim sum (thick skin and bland). Nevertheless, The Line does shine through for some such as the seafood and dessert spreads, making them the restaurant’s specialties.

Worth a try, if you’ve the financial resources and are big on desserts. After all, which self-professed food lover would miss out on a buffet? A bit pricey, but you get what you pay for 🙂